Dems challenge GOP lawmaker to back up Voter ID claims

With the new Texas voter ID bill now under scrutiny at the Department of Justice, Democrats are pressing Rep. Larry Gonzales, R-Round Rock, to present information proving the legislation will not infringe on minority voter’s rights.

In an interview with YNN on Oct. 14, Gonzales responded to a report released by the Secretary of State that found 605,576 registered voters lack a state-issued driver’s license or identification card.

“What the Democrats aren’t taking into consideration is the numbers they saw do not include all 7 forms of identification (allowed under the new law),” Gonzales said. “We feel confident once all the forms are included, no one will be disenfranchised and people will have access to the polls.”

That assertion influenced Texas Democratic Chairman Boyd Richie to file an open records request with Gonzales’ office calling for data to back up his statement.

Gonzales responded to Richie’s request with a list of the seven allowable forms of identification under the photo ID law and a news article.

“Once all forms of identification are included no one should be without an acceptable form of identification,” Gonzales said.

In the Secretary of State’s report of registered voters without a driver’s license or identification card, it did not include those voters which possess a passport, concealed handgun license, military identification card or an election identification certificate.

“Larry Gonzales is flat out lying about the fact that he voted to disenfranchise his own constituents,” said Texas Democratic Party spokeswoman Rebecca Acuña said in a statement. “The sole purpose of the Republican voter suppression legislation is to disenfranchise the voters who don’t support his party’s failed policies.”

Gov. Rick Perry signed the bill after deeming it an emergency item in the legislative session earlier this year. Since then, the law has faced criticism from Democrats and a coalition of civil rights groups, such as the Texas State Conference of the NAACP and The Young Voters Education Fund.

Detractors of the bill say the more stringent requirements are an attempt by the GOP to suppress voters who do not have immediate access to photo identification, specifically racial minorities, students and the elderly.

Republicans argue the measure will extinguish voter fraud in Texas.

Currently, a voter only has to provide identification at the polls if they did not present a driver’s license or social security number on their voter registration card. Acceptable forms of identification include a birth certificate, official mail addressed by a government entity, utility bill, bank statement, paycheck or any form of photo identification.

Under the new law, every voter will have to present a government issued photo identification card – such as a Texas driver’s license, passport or concealed handgun license at the polling location prior to casting a vote.

The Brennan Center for Justice at the New York University Law School released a report Oct. 2 that found over 5 million American voters could be denied the right to vote under new voting regulations adopted in a dozen states. Several states are eliminating same day registration, others are requiring proof of citizenship or photo ID on voting day and some are reducing early voting days.

Section 5 of the Federal Voting Rights Act authorizes the Department of Justice to review election laws passed in particular states and counties. The act was meant to codify the power of the 15th Amendment, which outlaws discrimination at the polling booth.

In a letter to the state, T. Christian Herren, the chief of the DoJ’s Voting Section, said Texas original application submitted in July did not provide sufficient information to determine if the proposed changes will deny the right to vote on account of race.

Consequently, the Secretary of State submitted additional information Oct. 4 relating to the federally mandated voter education program, training of election officials to correctly implement SB 14 and the amount of voters that possess Spanish surnames out of the 605,576 registered voters who do not possess a valid ID, at the request of the DoJ.

Spanish surnames were requested because Texas does not collect race information from voters.